Wigan Warriors' Thomas Leuluai reunites with former Kiwi room-mate ahead of World Club Challenge

Sydney Roosters enforcer Jared Waerea-Hargreaves has vowed to put the shots on when he faces Wigan - and his former room-mate Thomas Leuluai.
Thomas Leuluai and Jared Waerea-HargreavesThomas Leuluai and Jared Waerea-Hargreaves
Thomas Leuluai and Jared Waerea-Hargreaves

The Kiwi prop, who scored a try in their World Club Challenge victory in 2014, is a key figure in the Sydney Roosters pack.

Asked whether he would be looking to put on big shots tomorrow nights, he grinned: “It’s a World Club Challenge - so I guess, eh?”

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Waerea-Hargreaves has faced many of the Warriors on the Test stage, and knows one Wigan player particularly well.

“Tommy was my first ever Kiwis room-mate in 09, he looked after me and showed me the ropes and it’s good to see he’s still trooping on,” he said.

Asked if he had ever been on the receiving end of Leuluai’s bone-jarring shoulder, he replied: “I have, a couple of times, whether in training or against the Warriors - it’s pretty solid.”

They caught up at the launch event in Wigan on Thursday night and Leuluai says the 30-year-old is just one of the stars in an impressive Sydney Roosters line-up.

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“It’s great seeing Jared develop into the leader he is - for the Roosters and the Kiwis,” he said. “He’s a good fella and a fantastic player, too.

“They have a special team, they’ve got a good team. You look at Cooper Cronk, he is proven and he’s done it at every single level for a long time.”

Leuluai is expected to again start at halfback, partnering England No.6 George Williams, after Adrian Lam decided not to bring Jarrod Sammut into the mix - he is available after serving a two-game ban.

The 33-year-old was a part of the Wigan side which won the World Club Challenge two years ago shortly after he returned for his second spell with the club.

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But he admits he wasn’t quite comfortable celebrating the victory over Cronulla, given he hadn’t been a part of the side which won the previous year’s Super League title.

“The last one was funny, I came back and straight into a game and winning a trophy,” he recalled. “I was happy to partake in the celebrations!

“But I tried to sit in the background a bit, because it was more of a reward for what Wigan had done the previous year.

“What it showed me, though, was just how much it meant to the Wigan people - it made me realise how much these games mean to the town.

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“To be honest, I didn’t realise how much it meant until then - it was awesome. No club has won five of these, and that would be special - it’d be nice to add to the club’s history but we don’t want to get ahead of ourselves.”

He says it would make more sense for the World Club Challenge to be played at the end of each season.

“I don’t know if they could do it logistically, but it would make sense,” he added. “Our club has changed dramatically since last season and their side has, too. I’m not sure it would happen thought."